The Woodlands Area Economic Development Partnership

Thank you to The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce for hosting a wonderful welcome reception of Aaron Cox, IOM, their new President & CEO. It was a pleasure connecting with Aaron and his team. We look forward to supporting Ann Wolford, 2024-2025 Chairman of the Board, and the Chamber with new goals and future initiatives! Gil serves on the Board of Directors, Holly serves on the Economic Outlook Conference Committee, and Mariana serves on the Business Advocacy Council.

Holly Gruy and Gil Staley had a great evening connecting with leaders from The Chevron Championship, LPGA Tour at The Club at Carlton Woods last night. They were excited to meet with pro golfer Madi Frerking and hear about the plans the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) has in store for their April 23-27th 2025 event! Thank you to Jason Garrow for the invitation! Keep up-to-date with The Chevron Championship and get the latest news, special offers and event information here. https://lnkd.in/g_uVUcbm?

Thank you to the Montgomery County Hispanic Chamber and Miguel A. Lopez! We greatly enjoyed attending today’s Café con Miguel featuring Jim Carman, President for Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. - Houston Region. What a great opportunity to hear Jim tell his story, connect with our network, and make some new friends. Special shout out to Julio Resendez, Chairman for MCHC, for sharing the selfie!???

It's "Member Monday"! Please help us give a warm welcome to our recently updated Partner Representative for Texas Capital, Doug Anders. Doug serves as Executive Director and Business Banking SBA Team Lead at Texas Capital where he supports a diverse range of Texas-based clients across various industries. With 22 years of experience, Doug began his career in the retail division before transitioning to SBA lending in 2008. He has a passion for developing people and supporting small business' dreams! THANK YOU to Doug and Texas Capital for your continued support of our economic development efforts and our community! https://lnkd.in/g8yZAG34?

Thank you to our partner, Jason Higham and Guild Mortgage The Woodlands, for the invitation to attend yesterday’s special event featuring Elliot Eisenberg, also known as “The Bowtie Economist”. His Election Year 2024: Fourth Quarter Economic Roadmap offered invaluable insights into the national and local economy based on current topics.?Eisenberg is an internationally acclaimed economist and public speaker, and has a unique talent for making economics engaging, relevant, and educational.

Our CEO, Gil Staley had an opportunity to sit down and reflect on his approaching retirement and his remarkable legacy serving our community and the EDP. This engaging discussion is part of The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce’s “Between The Trees - Business Talk” series, hosted by Eric Endicott and Woodlands Online. Click the link below to watch the full interview! https://lnkd.in/deQXBDUn?

Happy Anniversary to our partners celebrating their membership milestones this month! Thank you for contributing to our mission to create jobs and support growth for our entire community. Together we are the EDP.

It's "Member Monday"! Please help us give a warm welcome to our recently updated Partner Representative for The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce, Aaron Cox, IOM. Aaron currently serves as the new President & CEO, he has extensive background in chamber operations and advocacy. Aaron joins the team with more than 20 years of experience serving businesses, people and communities. He has served over fifteen years in the chamber of commerce industry with state chambers in Texas and Kentucky and their statewide chamber professionals associations. He has successfully led agencies, projects and initiatives in business advocacy and public policy at the state and federal levels, workforce development, economic development, transportation and other human services issues. Aaron created a special welcome message to share with Chamber Members, which you can view here: https://lnkd.in/ggx4NGyH THANK YOU to Aaron and The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce for your 27 years support of our economic development efforts and our community!

Many thanks to Sebastien Solar, Market President of Commerce Bank, for being our featured presenter at this month's EDP Partner Executive Briefing!? ? When Solar was hired as Commerce Bank’s Houston Market President in 2018, he was tasked with establishing a foothold for the bank, essentially from scratch. “We didn’t have an office, didn’t have a team, and our brand wasn’t yet known in the market,” he says. “We had to build out everything.” Throughout the process, Solar kept a mantra in mind: “Never miss an opportunity to exceed expectations.” He used that philosophy to guide his decision-making and actions. “I continually asked myself how I can build a team that would surpass the expectations of our clients and team members.” Five years later, Commerce’s presence in Houston looks remarkably different. “We have a 16-person team with leaders for all core business lines working out of a great office space,” says Solar. “We can offer a turn-key solution for any need that comes up for any business.” Learn more about him and his team here: https://lnkd.in/gbrWPZAC.

At the invitation of Sujeevan Satheesan, British Consulate-General, Houston, we attended an exclusive networking event celebrating Scottish innovation and culture. The gathering aimed to foster relationships between Scotland and the U.S., with a focus on enhancing collaboration and celebrating innovation and partnership. It was an opportunity to discover new products and services from Scottish companies operating in the US, those exploring new markets, and network with key industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and the Scottish business community in Houston.